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Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

@sergiomarbel.bsky.social

1.5K followers 440 following 66 posts

National correspondent at National Public Radio (NPR) covering immigration. Soy de Carolina y vengo vira’o 🇵🇷. Tips? [email protected]; Signal: sergiomarbel.11

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Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · 12d

Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, a victim of the shooting at the Dallas ICE facility, continues to be in critical condition.

His wife is 39 weeks pregnant. It’s a boy. “What if he never even gets to meet him?”

She wants the world to know her husband: www.npr.org/2025/09/27/n...

'I want his name to be known:' Wife of immigrant injured at ICE facility shooting speaks out

Stephany Gauffeny says she wants the world to know that her husband, Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, is more than "just an immigrant or a detainee, or a criminal."

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · 16d

Mayra, a migrant from Nicaragua, was inside the Dallas ICE facility this morning for her immigration check in.

Around 6:20 a.m. local time, she says she heard about 20 gunshots, and that at times she could feel the bullets hitting the building. www.npr.org/2025/09/24/n...

Shooting at ICE detention facility in Dallas kills 2 detainees, injures 1 other

Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting Wednesday at a federal immigration detention facility in Dallas. Two detainees were killed in what the FBI says was an act "of targeted violence."

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 21

The family will now have one income to get by on. Kangethe says the family might now have to apply for welfare assistance.

They're partly relying on a GoFundMe set up by friends to help pay the mortgage as well as groceries and school-related expenses. www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...

Donate to Urgent Help for a Mother and 3 Children, organized by Tawny Felzke

Imagine waking up one day knowing your partner — the person who has shared the we… Tawny Felzke needs your support for Urgent Help for a Mother and 3 Children

www.gofundme.com

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 21

"For me it has been an absolute privilege to be in this country,” Kangethe says.

So now, the guy with a master’s in finance from a Michigan university, who worked as an accountant for the State of Michigan, is no longer here. He’s in Kenya. www.npr.org/2025/08/19/n...

Too much to pack, not enough hugs: A Kenyan man's last 48 hours in America

Samuel Kangethe has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, but an unresolved immigration case has made him deportable. He's decided to return to Kenya, leaving his wife and three children behind.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 21

Kangethe has no criminal record in the U.S. But he nonetheless faces removal proceedings after an immigration official ruled his previous marriage fraudulent in 2014.

He says leaving is a way to hold himself accountable. www.npr.org/2025/08/19/n...

Too much to pack, not enough hugs: A Kenyan man's last 48 hours in America

Samuel Kangethe has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, but an unresolved immigration case has made him deportable. He's decided to return to Kenya, leaving his wife and three children behind.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 21

Kangethe leaves behind his wife and his kids, ages 13, 11 and 5.

"This is the safest option that I had on the table for me," Kangethe says. "But also it's the decision that is probably going to hurt me the most … the kids are going to be hurting, too." www.npr.org/2025/08/19/n...

Too much to pack, not enough hugs: A Kenyan man's last 48 hours in America

Samuel Kangethe has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, but an unresolved immigration case has made him deportable. He's decided to return to Kenya, leaving his wife and three children behind.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 21

The other day, a successful immigrant with a good job voluntarily left the U.S. out of fear of being deported.

Samuel Kangethe boarded a flight to Kenya on Sunday. NPR was with him during his last two days in the U.S. Here’s his story: www.npr.org/2025/08/19/n...

Too much to pack, not enough hugs: A Kenyan man's last 48 hours in America

Samuel Kangethe has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, but an unresolved immigration case has made him deportable. He's decided to return to Kenya, leaving his wife and three children behind.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 9

Sam Kangethe has lived in the U.S. for 16 years. He’s from Kenya & came to study.

But he’s in a legal limbo: his open immigration case from a past marriage has made him deportable. So he’s opted to leave on his own terms, leaving children & wife behind. www.npr.org/2025/08/09/n...

'At least I'm safe': A Kenyan immigrant opts to leave the U.S. on his own terms, leaving children and wife behind

The Trump administration has given an ultimatum to immigrants without legal status: Leave voluntarily, or you'll be detained and deported. This has forced some immigrant families in the U.S. to grappl...

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Aug 1

Federal judge says TPS holders from Honduras, Nicaragua & Nepal want liberty & the American dream, but "Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood.”

She delayed TPS expiration for those countries. www.npr.org/2025/07/31/n...

Federal judge delays expiration of TPS for Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Nepalese

The Trump administration has said the conditions in the three countries have improved, therefore the immigrants can return back to their homelands. But federal Judge Trina Thompson suggested Trump's m...

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Jul 27

Carlos Daniel Terán says he thought he was going to die at the CECOT.

Andry Hernandez describes the place as “hell on Earth.”

Venezuelans deported to El Salvador mega-prison tell of brutal abuse www.npr.org/2025/07/27/n... w/ Manuel Rueda

'Hell on Earth': Venezuelans deported to El Salvador mega-prison tell of brutal abuse

Deported under a little-known wartime law, more than 130 Venezuelans were sent from the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Now released, several tell NPR they endured beatings, sexual a...

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Jul 22

NPR correspondents and member station reporters will continue to report from the floods, city council, Congress, and across the world. You always make it possible, despite old & new challenges.

That’s the power of public radio. You are NPR. Support here: adoptastation.org

Adopt A Station - Rescue Public Media

Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding.

adoptastation.org

Reposted by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

Meg Anderson @meganders.bsky.social · Jul 18

Recently, this story from @sergiomarbel.bsky.social which lets you hear from people in a really intimate way what this terrible disaster was like for them. www.npr.org/2025/07/09/n...

Clinging to a tree, and praying: how a family survived the Texas flash floods

"I thought my mom was going to die in front of me," said Taylor Bergmann, a 19-year-old who fought to save the people in his family after the Guadalupe River smashed through their home.

Reposted by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

Meg Anderson @meganders.bsky.social · Jul 18

For no reason at all, just want to say I'm proud of my work over my nearly 10 years at @npr.org and of the work of so many of my colleagues and our member station partners.

Here's a list of things I've loved over the years.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Jul 9

“I thought my mom was going to die in front of me.”

How 19-year-old Taylor Bergmann fought to save the people in his family after the Guadalupe River smashed through their home in Hunt, Texas. t.co/aPNY3cLhRp

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5461068/clinging-to-a-tree-and-praying-how-a-family-survived-the-texas-flash-floods

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Jul 6

NEW: As of 9am CT, the death toll in Kerr County is 59 due to the flooding in Texas’ Hill Country.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said that includes 38 adults and 21 children.

11 Camp Mystic campers are unaccounted for.

8 people have died in nearby counties due to floods.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Jul 5

At least 24 people are dead after flash flooding in Texas’ Hill Country.

Dozens remain missing, including 21-year-old Ella Rose, who was staying with friends at a house near the Guadalupe River. Rescue efforts continue.

My latest from Kerrville, Texas: t.co/RfKu0pZRJw

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/05/nx-s1-5457246/at-least-24-dead-in-texas-floods-rescue-efforts-still-underway

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Jun 10

'You barely see people out': How immigration raids are reshaping daily life in Barrio Obrero, Puerto Rico's Dominican neighborhood. www.npr.org/2025/06/07/n...

'You barely see people out': How immigration raids are reshaping daily life in Puerto Rico's Dominican enclave

Puerto Rico's Dominican immigrant community is on edge following a series of immigration raids, which started in January. People have stopped going to work, sending kids to school, or attending medica...

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · May 21

Hi! Happy to connect via email at [email protected] or via Signal: sergiomarbel.11

Reposted by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

NPR @npr.org · May 7

JUST IN: Black smoke streamed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the more than 130 cardinal electors have not come to a two-thirds agreement about who the next pope should be.

Black smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel as cardinals cast an unsuccessful first vote

Black smoke streamed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the more than 130 cardinal electors have not come to a two-thirds agreement about who the next pope should be.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · May 2

Today, more than ever, is important that you help us protect the vital, free public service NPR and its member stations provide.

It’s free and independent journalism. It’s public because of YOU — You can keep it alive. www.npr.org/donations/su...

Power independent journalism in your community. Donate to your NPR station.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · May 2

President Trump signs executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR.

“It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with.” apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump signs executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · May 1

OK, pero TIENEN que ver el Tiny Desk de PJ Sin Suela. ¡Que orgullo ser de la misma isla que él, de Puerto Rico, y de trabajar en un lugar que le da una plataforma! youtu.be/pmu2rshSEFg?...

PJ Sin Suela: Tiny Desk Concert

YouTube video by NPR Music

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Apr 30

"To President Trump and his cabinet, I'm not afraid of you." — Mohsen Mahdawi

Federal judge orders release of Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi www.npr.org/2025/04/30/n...

Federal judge orders release of Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi

A federal judge in Vermont ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University who was arrested at his US citizenship interview and ordered deported.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Apr 16

Yasmelin Velazquez has waited 10 months for her first immigration court date.

But a last-minute hospitalization has led to more anxiety — missing her court date could be bad news.

This is a day in the life of one migrant seeking to stay in the U.S.: www.npr.org/2025/04/14/g...

A day in the life of one migrant seeking to stay in the U.S.

Yasmelin Velazquez has waited 10 months for her immigration court date. But a last-minute hospitalization and confusion over Trump's changing immigration policies lead to more hurdles and anxiety.

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán @sergiomarbel.bsky.social · Apr 9

The latest episode of @npr.org’s Code Switch is the result of over a month of reporting & conversations with devastated parents whose sons are in El Salvador, or were in Gitmo, as part of Trump’s policies.

Please give it a listen wherever you listen to podcasts. t.co/TM5mTYfUgs

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/1243652749/why-trump-is-sending-venezuelans-to-el-salvador